I Made It Through The Rain
by flashpenguin
Summary: Penelope gets flooded out during a bad storm. When all seems lost, Rossi steps in to help save the day. A late pinch hit for the Candy Land forum challenge.


_**Sorry this story took so long to get posted. I had had the idea a little while back but like Pen, I managed to get flooded out with two storms. So, why not twist life experience and make it a story, right? And somehow the moment I heard the song, I knew I had a story. I hope you enjoy it.**_

_**Pairing: Garcia/Rossi **_

_**Candy Prompt: Candy Corn**_

_**Song prompt: "I Made It Through The Rain" by Barry Manilow**_

_**Dedicated to everyone who has made it thru the rain - literally and figuratively.**_

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**I Made It Through The Rain**

Penelope Garcia sat on the second to last step of the basement stairs and buried her face in her hands. Four hours into the clean up, and she felt she had not made a single dent. As one single tear made its way down her cheek, she tried not to give into self-pity. But that was proving harder than the clean up.

It had been a freak storm cell over the east coat and it seemed to have settled near DC. Powerful winds, lightning, and torrential rains had popped up literally without warning and now it seemed to be rushing into Pen's basement.

It wasn't the first time the basement had flooded, but this was the worst it had ever been. She thought she had been prepared for it, but Mother Nature had proven herself a formidable foe, and the harder Pen worked, the faster the water came in.

It had stated slow: a little trickle of water that was easily mopped up. A few towels around the area help to guarantee that should there be any more during the night, it would be caught. Satified, Pen turned in and never gave it a second thought. Until the sound of thunder shook the house and woke her from a dead sleep.

Jumping out of bed, she looked at the rain coming down in sheets from the black sky, and then it dawned on her: the basement! Running downstairs, she hesitated to make the journey to the area that she knew was going to be bad.

Turning on the light, she slowly made her way down one step, then another. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and nearly fainted. The whole area was under no less than an inch of water. And it was still pouring in from somewhere.

Spinning on her heels, she ran to the kitchen trying to locate the shop-vac she had bought after the last storm. Making sure it was ready, she dragged it downstairs. Plugging it into the wall socket, she turned it on and set it to begin suction. Almost immediately, the container was full.

Flummoxed, she looked at the outside of the canister. Five gallons! Groaning, she slapped her forehead. How could she have been so stupid to get a shop-vac that could only contain five gallons? She had had the chance to get the twenty gallon vacuum, but had decided against it because she reasoned that the leak was nothing to worry about and it made no sense to waste the money on a tool she may never use again.

Biting off a curse, she lifted the lid and carried the bucket to the bathroom she had just installed while doing the renovations to convert the basement into a guest/entertainment area. Looking at the mess, she could only hope that she moved faster than the water.

Twenty minutes and nearly that many visits to the bathroom, Pen was slowly losing her patience, and her strength. Her arms ached, her back hurt, and there was a funny burn in her thighs, and it seemed that nothing she did was making any head way into getting the water up.

She needed help. Ah, hell, she thought as she secured the lid and turned the vacuum on for perhaps the hundredth time, she needed another shop-vac. If only the rain would let up for five minutes, she could run upstairs and call someone. But who?

JJ couldn't leave Henry. Hotch probably had one, but he couldn't leave Jack. Reid probably had little to no idea what a shop-vac was…so that left Morgan, Prentiss, and Rossi. The prospects were anything but inviting.

A dozen more trips to the bathroom, she looked at the floor. The water seemed to be going down, and the rain appeared to have stopped, so maybe it was a good time to call in reinforcements.

Going up the stairs, her shoes making a squishy sound now that they were just as water logged as the basement floor. Grabbing the phone, she made the first of three calls. Morgan was out, Prentiss didn't have a shop-vac, but she would be more than willing to run and get one. Pen told her not to worry now that it looked like the storm had passed. She could get it taken care of. Prentiss insisted, but Pen begged her off. It was alright, she had lied, her fingers crossed behind her back, she had over reacted about the amount of water and it was nothing to worry about.

Prentiss mentioned that perhaps Pen should call Rossi and see if he had an extra vacuum since he had a house and two years earlier a pipe had burst in the basement.

Pen groaned inwardly. She had gone up to the plate twice to swing and miss. There was no way she was going to call Agent Hard Ass and beg for help only to strike out. Promising she would, Pen gave a goodnight and hung up the phone. She was on her own. But she needed a snack to replenish her energy. Grabbing a bag from the cupboard, she walked to the living room.

Maybe if she could get most of the water up, she could get some sleep before having to go into work in six hours. But first, she was going to get an update on the Weather Channel. Turning on the TV, she heard the emergency beep alert before the screen came on. Another storm advisory was made for the surrounding areas as another cell was making its way up from Kentucky.

"NO!" Pen cried out. "Dammit! Why tonight?" she asked to the empty room. In actuality, it wouldn't have mattered which night it happened, the storm was ruining her sleep and her home. Running down stairs, she moved as quickly as she could to prepare for the next wave. Locating two over sized buckets, she placed them near the shop-vac so she could dump the water into the buckets and continue the suction. It wasn't her most brilliant idea, but at this point it was all she had.

Pulling a chair over, she sat down and waited.

The next wave didn't disappoint. At first she was on it, but then it seemed like something had broken and the water began rushing in from all areas. It was too much too fast. And it seemed the faster she worked the faster it came in.

Exhausted, tired, her body aching from constant lifting and bending, and her ears had a constant hum from the motor of the vacuum, Pen had no choice but to admit defeat. Tears running from her eyes, she munched on the treat and gave into self-pity. Sniffling, she ran a hand under her nose. She had failed.

Soft footsteps on the stairs caused her to jump and turn around. Rossi!

"Boss! What are you doing here?" she gasped and stood up. Realizing she must look a fright, she tried to smooth her hair and wipe the dirt from her cheeks.

"Prentiss called me looking for a shop-vac."

Attempting a weak smile, Pen laughed nervously. "Why…why would she do that?"

"She mentioned that you called her looking for one. I think she asked you to call me, and then to call her back and let her know."

Pen's cheeks flushed hot and red. "I-" Her hand fluttered to her chest. Swallowing hard, she wondered how to successfully fib to an expert profiler. "I…don't remember."

"You didn't call me, so she did." Stepping down to where Pen stood, Dave hiked up his jeans and sat down on the stair. Looking around at the mess, he stayed silent for a long while.

"How did you get into my house?" Pen wondered and sat down beside him.

"You had a key under the huge potted plant on the corner of the porch. Not the wisest place to put a key, but I knew that you wouldn't let me in if I knocked."

"I guess I'm going to have to move the key." She watched him as he looked at the basement that had been in the process of being renovated and now looked like a mini disaster area.

"Why didn't you call me?" he asked softly.

The tears began falling. "Because I didn't want to be seen as a failure. I thought I had this under control…and I almost did, until that last storm moved in. I made a mistake and bought a shop-vac that can't hold much and I didn't want people to think I didn't know how to fix things."

Dave cupped her cheek. "Asking for help doesn't make one a failure, Kitten. Especially when you have friends who are willing to help you."

"Look at this place," she wailed tearfully, "it's a wreck!"

"It's been flooded," he corrected. "It's nothing that can't be fixed once we get the water up and things cleaned."

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"Have you gotten any sleep tonight?" he asked gently.

"A little…some…" She lowered her eyes as he searched hers. "None." Picking up the bag, she popped a sugary bite in her mouth and chewed as the tears kept falling.

"You're tired. How much water did you collect?"

Pen shrugged. "I think I stopped counting at three hundred gallons."

His lips twitched. "Have you eaten anything?" He took in her pale cheeks and dark circled eyes.

"Just some candy corns I grabbed from the kitchen when I heard another storm was moving in." Dave raised his eyebrow. "I'll get something when I finish…cleaning."

Patting her shoulder, Dave stood up. "You sit there and rest. I brought a big vacuum that should have this up in no time. You did a good job."

He stepped up to the landing and picked up the huge machine. Careful not to hit Pen, he carried it downstairs. Plugging it in, he turned back to her.

"After we're done here, I want you to get cleaned up so I can take you to breakfast. I already let Hotch know that you won't be in today. Later, I'll make a call to a friend who owns a construction business and see what he can do to fix the leak."

"Boss…" Penn protested.

"Garcia, just do as you're told. Okay? Don't make me call in reinforcements." His eyes twinkled.

"What can I do to repay you?"

"I'll take some of those candy corns for energy, if you don't mind." As she extended the bag, he took a handful and popped them in his mouth. "Now let me get this done." He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

"You're not the hard ass I thought you were, Boss." Her eyes shone bright with respect.

He gave her his famous grin. "Yes, I am, but let's keep this a secret between us, okay?" He winked and started the motor.

Blushing, she winked back. His secret would be safe with her. Forever.


End file.
